--- Disturbance, Book 1: Convergence ---
Chapter C10 - Fear
Disclaimer: The fun about this sentence is that by the time you realise it doesn't say anything, it's too late to stop reading it. Also: See first chapter.
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-Fear something again-
"We better go check on them," Kellre commented, phasing out.
"And find out why Kat was already prepared to help," Avarrdo adding, also disappearing.
Truniz sighed, "I better go keep those two out of trouble." With that, he too faded away.
-Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh-
Extracting herself from Gohan's grasp, after not-so gently elbowing him in the stomach to inform him she wanted out, Videl turned to her redheaded saviour and said, "Thanks for getting me out of there Kat, but can I ask you a question?"
The younger girl giggled, "You just did, but feel free to ask another."
Feeling a little miffed at the girl's childish antics, Videl took a calming breath before asking, "Just how did you save me? I mean, how did you hijack my shadow like that." She cast a quick glance behind her, making sure that her shadow was, in fact, back there again. When Kat didn't reply, Videl prompted, "Well?"
-Fear something again-
Kat just grinned, "I said you could ask a question, but I never said I'd answer it." That comment got a short round of laughter from Kaen, Pi, and Gohan, but the latter was quickly silence by another elbow to the gut. Before Videl could blow up on her, Kat continued, "I have no problem telling you how I did it; after all, unlike some people I don't feel the need to wait until the tournament's over." She cast a meaningful glance Gohan's way. "Keep in mind, however, that while it sounds simple enough, it's actually rather complex."
-Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh-
Videl nodded, calming down, "Okay, shoot."
Kat shrugged, "Basically, I converted my physical form into pure ki energy, and it just happens that my ki is a physical manifestation of pure void, or shadow, energy." Seeing the puzzled look the human girl was giving her, she sighed. "Observe." Raising her right hand palm up, she formed a pure black ball of energy. "You already know what energy looks like, having used it yourself; well this is mine. As you can see, unlike normal ki, my energy is aligned to one of the five elements, shadow, also known as void."
-Fear something again-
"Why?" Videl asked, curious. "I mean, how come your energy is elementally charged?"
Kat shrugged again, "No idea, it only happens to about one in every thousand or so fighters, but I think it might have something to do with my race; I think we're all aligned to shadow by default, we just don't tend to be fighters." Before Videl could question her on that further, she reabsorbed the ball and continued, "Now, this is how I helped you."
-Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh-
Videl watched in amazement, as the black energy seemed to flow up the girl's arm, covering it, until it reached her shoulder. Grinning, Kat chirped, "Cool huh? Go on, try hitting my hand." Nodding, Videl swung a punch at the younger girl's black hand, and watched as it sailed right through it. "Alright then," Kat piped up, "Try again." With a quirked eyebrow, Videl threw another punch, and this time felt shock at the sound of flesh hitting flesh. "See?" Kat asked, "I can go from physical to non-physical with just a thought. That's how I can fly through flat surfaces like a shadow does." She grinned cheekily, "Just call me Shadow Kat!" (1)
-Fear something again-
"Alright then, I get that part," Videl replied, ignoring the bad pun, before asking, "But how did you become my shadow?"
"Simple." With a grin, Kat switched her appearance over to a copy of Videl, then to Kaen, and finally to Piccolo, before turning back into herself. "I can change my appearance to look like anyone I want."
Blushing a little bit, the human girl asked, "When you change yourself to look like a guy, does... everything change?"
-Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh-
Blushing a bit herself, Kat was saved from having to answer by two events. The first was the announcer calling for the next two combatants, Piccolo and Shin. The second was an authoritative voice announcing, "There you are young lady. What have you got to say for yourself?"
Spinning around, Kat noticed three very familiar men walking their way. 'Thank you distraction!' She silently cheered, while asking, "Hey Pops, what're you three doing here?"
"We could ask you the same thing," Kellre countered, "Mind telling us why you did that?"
-Reject, are you no one?-
Feeling a little indignant, she commented, "I was helping a friend out. You got a problem with that?"
"And what made you think she'd need the help?" Avarrdo asked, "On the surface, there was nothing to suggest she'd need the help, but you were preparing to intervene almost from the moment the fight started."
Knowing she'd never be able to lie to them, she opted for the truth. "Kaen told me to be ready to help out. He figured there was something weird about Spopovich, and knew that if any of them intervened they'd be disqualified, so had me, an outsider, enlisted as backup."
-Feel you nothing?-
The penetrating stare of the three men turned their attention to Kaen, but the cocky young fighter was a little more resilient to it than his little sister was. "How did you know she'd need help boy?" Truniz demanded seriously.
"Didn't you know?" He sassed back. "It was obvious from appearances alone that something wasn't right with him, and for all her strength and bravado, the girl is only human."
"You're hiding things from us." It was a statement, not a question.
Kaen just levelled a stare at his father. "I keep secrets from everyone. Why should you be special old man?"
-You know I'll bet you think you have a good reason-
The tension in the room seemed to escalate, until Videl unwittingly broke it by asking, "Um, Mister Avarrdo sir, can I ask you a question? How come you go by your surname?" When he looked at her as though to say 'What the hell are you blabbering about?' she added, "Back when Kaen and Pi introduced themselves to the class, they addressed themselves as Kaen Avarrdo, and Pi Kellre."
The older man nodded, "I understand now. We Saiyans don't have surnames like you humans do. Instead, we introduce ourselves by referring to who our parents are, usually our father; for example, Kaen, son of Avarrdo, or Pi, daughter of Kellre. If he is unknown, we will then name our grandfather, and if that doesn't help, his father, and so on. Kaen and Pi merely chose to drop the 'son of' and 'daughter of'."
-To be living in the limelight of the fortunate ones-
"Saiyans are expected to know their heritage back to the beginning of their bloodline," Kellre added, "And with the exception of two, every Saiyan does."
"Who are the exceptions?" Videl asked.
Truniz grinned. "Goku and Vegeta. Goku, or as we knew him, Kakarott, was sent away from the planet when he was a couple of months old, and thus missed out on growing up like a Saiyan. Vegeta, however, missed out on the lessons of heritage because our planet was destroyed before he started, as Saiyans weren't expected to learn it before their second birthday, or tenth in the Earth calendar."
-You're too weakened by the poison that they feed you-
Kaen snorted, "Not like Vegeta needs to know his heritage anyway."
"Why's that?" Goku asked; all of this was news to him.
"Simple," Kellre replied, "For the past fifty-four generations, the Saiyan kings have all been named Vegeta, right up until our planet was destroyed. Without the throne or crown, there was no need for a king, so the fifty-fifth Vegeta still uses the title of Prince."
"Who was your father Avarrdo?" The Earth-raised Saiyan asked.
When the older man grimaced, Kaen smirked, replying, "There's a reason dad doesn't use his 'surname'." When the attention was turned his way, he added, "Mum insisted I be named after my grandfather."
-In the living lie, they don't believe you-
"Here's an interesting titbit," Truniz interjected, "The bloodline of Kaen and Avarrdo traces its lineage back to the beginning of the Vegeta line. Their ancestor was Vegeta the Second's older brother. On his tenth birthday, while his mother was pregnant with his younger brother, he declared he wanted nothing to do with the throne, and thus, his younger brother was named Vegeta, after his father, and the Vegeta tradition was born."
Working out the math in her head, Videl asked, "So that would make Vegeta Kaen's distant uncle?"
"Cousin, actually," Kaen corrected. "I'm ten years older than him." When Videl spun in his direction, gaping incredulously, he smirked, "Don't look half bad for my age do I?"
-Call to no one / Trust in nothing / Little impotent one-
"Well then, this will be interesting, don't you think Piccolo?" Shin commented calmly, as the pair walked towards the ring.
'What is this strange energy I sense?' Piccolo thought to himself, staring at the always-calm Shin, as the two stood across from each other in the ring.
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be-
"I don't understand," Krillin commented, having moved away from the Saiyans and their discussion, "Is this guy really getting under your skin that much?"
"Yeah," Goku replied, "There's just something odd about him."
"If you say so," the short man shrugged, "He just doesn't seem to be all that powerful to me."
'Come on Shin,' Vegeta thought to himself mockingly, 'Why don't you show us why you have the little Namek all worried.'
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be innocent, you know-
"Here's another amusing piece of information," Kat commented, "The mother of the boy I'm dating was my childhood friend; we grew up together until I was thirteen."
"What?" Videl almost shouted, "That's not possible!"
"Don't mind them Videl," Gohan soothed, "They're just saying these things to mess with your head."
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be-
"Oh," She sighed in relief, "They're just joking."
"Oh no, they're quite serious," Gohan corrected, "They're just telling you them to mess with you."
Feeling a little faint, Videl mumbled, "But... what... how..."
-I don't want to be / I don't want to let them hypnotize me-
"It's quite simple," Avarrdo lectured, "Pattern irregularities in the flux wave resulted in-"
"Time travel," Truniz blurted out. At the older man's glare, he defended his position with, "Look, whatever you were gonna say, she wouldn't have understood a word of it." Shaking his head a bit, he added, "Hell, I lived through it, and I don't understand it
-Punk ass, are you listening?-
Watching the grin come to Shin's face, Piccolo grit his teeth, growling to himself. 'Why can't I focus my power? Why am I holding back like this? I've never met him before today! And yet, there's something about him...' Focusing his thoughts, he continued, 'I've sensed this kind of energy before. But where?'
Powering up in a way only Piccolo could see, Shin started laughing to himself, but it seemed only Piccolo could hear that too.
'No! It couldn't be!' The Namek thought to himself frantically. 'It can't be him! Why would he be here?'
-Can you hear me?-
Smiling, Shin commented, "I promise you'll know soon." Staring in shock, Piccolo could hear the words echoing inside his head, only to realise it wasn't an echo. "You'll know soon." Smiling again, Shin added, "But for now, let's enjoy our little match."
Walking over to the edge of the ring, the announcer asked, "So, is this gonna happen or what?"
"I'm sorry," Piccolo replied, giving him a quick look, before turning back towards Shin, "I can't."
-Or are you deaf and dumb to my language?-
"Does this mean... you're withdrawing from the match?" the announcer prompted.
Waling away from the arena, Piccolo commented quietly, "Yes, it does."
'Interesting,' Shin thought to himself, 'Yes, that Namek was the Guardian of this planet at one point. Perhaps he knows more about me than I thought.'
-Do the real words seem to hurt you?-
"Is he that strong?" Goku asked.
"Yes," Piccolo replied, "Stronger than you can imagine."
Kaen just snorted, commenting to himself, "Then you must have a pretty weak imagination..." Stretching his arms, he added, "Well, looks like I'm up."
-Well put em' up motherfucker-
"Good luck out there!" Kat cried cheerfully.
"I don't need luck," Kaen replied, staring down Yamu, as the two strode towards the ring. He couldn't help but notice the glance Shin cast Yamu's back as the two passed each other, the purple-skinned man heading back to the fighter's lounge.
-You'll feel it when I stamp it on your forehead-
"We should probably head back up to the stands," Kellre commented, "And we'll take these two with us." He indicated the two Demi-Saiyan brats sitting quietly on the side.
"And you, young lady, are coming back with us," Avarrdo added.
She sighed, "Fine, fine."
"Wait," Videl exclaimed, "While I've got you here, can you answer a couple more questions for me?"
Looking towards the impatient old men, Kat replied, "Sure, but make 'em quick."
-So you will never forget that you're a reject-
Videl nodded, "Alright. First, what are you?"
"Nekojin," she replied swiftly.
"Cat person? But you don't look like-" Videl trailed off, watching as Kat's appearance changed again, this time growing cat ears, fur, and a ginger tail. "Right, appearance changing. All right then, my last question's technically not about you. I know Saiyans don't have a surname, but do you?"
-And you're no one / And you're nothing / Little impotent one-
"Nope," the young redhead chirped, "Or at least, I don't remember it. Besides, I'm not gonna wind up using mine for too much longer."
"So," the human girl asked slyly, "When you and Leo get married, what'll your surname be then?"
Kat blushed at the fact Videl had used the word 'when', not 'if'. "Pryde. Their surname is Pryde."
Videl quirked her head to one side, "So you'll be Kitty Pride?" (2)
"Yup."
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be-
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be innocent, you know-
'It must be him, I'm sure of it.' Piccolo had put a little effort into tracking down the short purple man, who had retreated to the second floor of the fighter's lounge after his match; from there, he could easily observe the ring, while being away from the prying eyes and ears of the other fighters. Walking over towards him, he thought to himself, 'If it had been anyone else - anyone else - I would not have thrown the match.'
Smiling a little, Shin asked, "What is it?" For the first time, Piccolo noticed that Kibito wasn't around.
Stopping about two feet away, Piccolo replied, "Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I have to ask you?"
"Yes?"
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be-
-I don't want to be / I don't want to let them hypnotize me-
Psyching himself up, the Namekian fighter asked, "Well, are you... Are you the Grand Kai?"
Still smiling, Shin replied, "Sorry, no I'm not."
"I'll tell you who he is," Kibito commented, walking into view. "The Supreme Kai."
"Keep that information to yourself please," Shin, revealed to be the Supreme Kai, stated to the gaping Piccolo. "I don't want the others to know just yet."
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be-
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be innocent, you know-
Kaen smirked over at his opponent. Yamu looked so sure of himself; it'd be fun to knock him down a peg or two. As soon as the gong sounded Kaen rocketed forward, grabbing his opponent in a headlock, and leaning in to comment into his ear, "I know what you are, Majin."
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be-
-I don't want to be / I don't want to let them hypnotize me-
"WHAT!" Shin exclaimed, spinning to face the ring, "How does he... How does he know that word?"
Piccolo, who had been walking away up until that point, paused and turned back. His hearing was sensitive enough to have picked up what Kaen said; 'Majin'. Seeing the states of unbridled shock on both Shin and Kibito's faces, he knew it couldn't be good; the Kai's eyes were almost falling out is his head, and Kibito looked like he'd swallowed his tongue. "What does that word mean, Majin?" Piccolo asked.
"It... It is why we are here, on this planet," Shin replied after a moment.
-Fear awaken-
-Go with it now and let it overcome you-
Yamu gasped in shock, and Kaen took the opportunity to knee him in the back, before elbow dropping him to the ground. Picking him up by the neck, he added, "I know everything about you, Majin. I know why you're here. I also know that your boy Spopovich hurt a friend of mine. These are unforgivable." Dragging Yamu closer, until the two were face-to-face, Kaen grinned evilly, "Give Babidi a message for me; I'm coming for him." He swiftly kneed Yamu in the stomach.
-Fear awaken-
-Your mind is racing-
"I... I don't understand it..." Shin stammered, "How... How can he possibly know about Babidi? We only found out ourselves a month ago! It's just not possible!"
'So, Kaen knows something even the Supreme Kai doesn't," Piccolo mused to himself. 'Interesting.' He suddenly remembered something the flame-haired fighter had said before. 'I wonder where he may have met the Supreme Kai before, or at least, met a Kai...' He had his suspicions, but he'd have to wait and see.
-I don't understand why you don't like me-
-Why don't you like me?-
"Are you sure Kaen's gonna be alright?" Videl asked. She wasn't really worried about him - he wasn't her friend after all, not really - but he did look out for her with Spopovich, so she felt she had to ask.
"Don't worry about him," Pi replied with a wave of her hand, "Kaen's more than strong enough to handle anything Yamu can dish out, even if he's stronger than Spopovich. No offence Videl, but you couldn't hurt him unless he let you."
-Am I so different from you?-
-Now does it scare you that I'm able to discern what to love and what to burn?-
'That's for damn sure," Videl thought to herself, feeling a few phantom pains across her neck, where she remembered Kaen holding her; the memory was so clear to her, she could still remember the terror she'd felt when her attacks didn't even phase him.
"I'm more worried about Yamu myself," Pi continued, "Poor bastard doesn't know what he's getting in to."
-I'll add your fuel to the fire now-
-Stand back, brother take your hand back-
"Come on you worthless sack of crap," Kaen spat, kicking Yamu in the ribs, and causing the dazed fighter to fly onto his feet, "I've got a whole can of whoop-ass yet to open on you."
-Leave it and I might crack-
-More than a smile or two you see-
Before Yamu could recover Kaen sped forward, slamming him under the chin with a powerful uppercut, and causing the pale fighter's neck to stretch elastically as his head extended about a foot from his shoulders. Like Spopovich, his head quickly snapped back, coming to rest on his shoulders again, but while he was still reeling from that Kaen slammed his fist into Yamu's ribs, causing the Majin to fly backwards.
-Don't judge what you don't understand-
-You can't deny what has been given to me-
Phasing out, Kaen appeared a ways behind him, throwing his leg out backwards to catch Yamu in the kidneys, and reversing his momentum, sending him sailing the other way. Phasing in front of him again, Kaen swung his knee up, catching Yamu in the stomach, and folding him around it. Before he could fly away again, Kaen grabbed his leg, swinging him in a skyward arc, before slamming him face-first into the tile.
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be-
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be innocent, you know-
In a particularly cruel move, Kaen brought his leg back and swung it down between his fallen opponent's legs, the force of the blow sending him rocketing upwards. Smirking darkly, Kaen leapt up, moving faster than Yamu, and flipping backwards in the air to send Yamu plummeting back down with a moonsault kick. He then phased out again, reappearing beneath him, and catching the brutalised fighter above his head one-handed. He kicked him back into the air with another back flip kick, before leaping after him again and elbow-dropping him in the ribs. This time, he made no effort to stop the Majin's descent.
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be-
-I don't want to be / I don't want to let them hypnotize me-
As Yamu slammed harshly with the tile, skipping across the surface for several feet, Kaen slowly descended back down, before landing calmly with a pair of soft taps. He watched calmly as Yamu struggled to his feet, observing the Majin's lungs reinflating, his spine re-setting, and his ribs creaking back into position. When Yamu turned his way again, purple blood leaking from the corners of his mouth, there was a good deal of fear in his eyes.
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be-
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be innocent, you know-
"Wow," Videl commented, "He's kicking ass."
"He's wasting time," Vegeta grunted sourly, "He should just finish him off and get it over with."
"Don't you get it Vegeta?" Gohan added, "He's testing him. He's showing us what the limits are, because I'm going to be fighting Spopovich in the next round."
-I don't want to be / I don't want to be-
-I don't want to be / I don't want to let them hypnotize me-
"Wait," Videl interrupted, "Kaen's pulling his punches?"
"Uhuh," Pi nodded brightly, "If he wanted, Kaen would have no trouble sending Yamu halfway to the moon." Grimacing slightly, she added, "He is being particularly vicious though." She shrugged, "What can I say, he has anger issues."
"Yeah, right," Gohan drawled, "And my dad likes the occasional snack."
-Fear awaken-
-Go with it now, and let it overcome you-
Fearing for his life, Yamu turned and started to flee towards the edge of the ring. Before he could get there though, Kaen phased in front of him, punching him in the throat, growling, "Going somewhere?" As he watched Yamu stager backwards, waiting for his throat to reinflate, Kaen taunted, "What's the problem? You were so confident coming into this match? Where's all that bravado now?"
-Fear awaken-
-Go with it now, go with it now-
Throwing his hands forward, Yamu let out a shout, firing off a wave of purple energy, but Kaen just calmly batted it back almost perfectly on it's axis, causing it to strike it's caster in the face. "Pathetic," Kaen spat disgustedly, "I expected a fighter, and instead I get a weakling." Scowling, he added, "It's time to end this. You should feel fortunate I can't kill you."
-Your fear awaken-
-Go with it now, and let it overcome you-
Blurring slightly, Kaen disappeared from view. Looking around frantically, Yamu's body was suddenly rocked from an unseen blow, Kaen blurring back in at the point of impact, before disappearing again. With inhuman speed Kaen circled his opponent, delivering blow after punishing blow, each time reappearing for a split second. After a minute Kaen grew bored of this, reappearing with one last devastating kick, and sending the brutalised Yamu hurtling into the concrete wall surrounding the arena.
-Fear awaken-
-Your mind is racing-
"And Yamu is outside of the ring!" The announcer shouted, "Once we confirm he is in fact still alive, Kaen will be declared the winner."
"Don't worry," Kaen commented, walking calmly back to the lounge, "He's still breathing." Sure enough, the lump of flesh that slowly unravelled itself to be Yamu was still breathing, laboured though it was.
-Erasing now-
"Have fun?" Pi asked her mate, thumping him on the arm.
-Hey reject-
He shrugged, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "A little." Locking gazes with Gohan, he added, "It's just a shame I won't get any real opponents until the semis."
-Are you no one?-
"Don't forget Shin," Krillin commented, "You're up against him next."
-Feel you nothing?-
"Please," Kaen replied dismissively, "Despite what the Namek believes, Shin will be no more of a challenge than Yamu was."
-You know I'll bet you think you have a good reason-
"Come on Kaen," Pi piped up, dragging him off, "We've got half an hour, and I need a drink before my next match." Vegeta smirked to himself as the two walked off. In thirty minutes he would face Pi in combat for the first time, and he would show the girl once and for all where she stood. For denying him his match against Kakarott, she would receive the full force of his Saiyan strength.
-To be living in the limelight of the fortunate ones you know!-
To be continued...
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Author's notes:
(1) and (2) - This was just something that came to me. It didn't occur to me until about a month ago that, with her powers, Kat could be known as Shadow Kat, and from that realisation, I had to include the name Kitty Pryde in there. In case you don't know, Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde was one of the X-Men. Her codename? Shadowcat.
And so the elimination round comes to a close. These first eight rounds have probably been very boring, but they're needed to set the scene for the (hopefully) spectacular later rounds.
I'd like to take a moment to respond to a few points Mystic4 Gohan brought up. First, you brought up the way Kaen and Pi speak down to Vegeta, despite the hard life the Saiyan Prince has lead. Now, I'm not going to try and claim my characters have had harder lives than some twenty years of slavery, but the reason they talk to Vegeta like that is simple: they know it pisses him off. They speak to him as an infant because they remember him as an infant - they were fifteen when Vegeta was five - and they know being spoken down to annoys him. Now, don't get me wrong, I like Vegeta as a character, but I also like making fun of him.
Now, as for Kaen and Pi knowing more than they should, e.g. the Majin, there is a very good reason for that. However, telling you now would spoil coming events; how he came about the knowledge is a fairly major plot event, or at least results from one. The clues are there though, if you're observant. As for the other OC's knowing 'everything', a lot of that's all talk; a psychiatrist knows everything because he makes you to believe he does.
Oh, and yes, Gohan and Spopovich will meet in the ring. Stay tuned for that; trust me, you won't want to miss it.